Today was good. I really missed pressing so I’m glad to be back at it.

It also feels like pressing is going to be good to my shoulders and upper back, regarding my pain issues. I do have to be mindful — I can’t ego lift here, I have to ensure head through and that the shoulders shrug a bit at the top. But precisely that is what should be helping me out (vs. say a press with a nice layback that’s basically like an upright incline (bench) press).

I admit some confidence issues here. I haven’t lifted heavy in too long. I haven’t pressed in ages. When I started the 5’s PRO I felt the 5’s might be too much come the 3rd (1+) week. On paper it worked: if I can 1RM 195, 5 repping 165 should be cake. Sure enough it was, but still… I had confidence issues. Which is also kinda silly because what’s the worst? I miss. But that’s also the thing: I shouldn’t miss, especially this first cycle — everything should be easy. Mostly if I did fail it would be pointing to not starting out correctly. But hey, so far so good!

I didn’t do split squats today. My MRI for my knees is later today, so why push it.

I continue to enjoy lying triceps extensions, with my head off the bench and the bar going back behind my head — great stretch, and it feels really good.

Anyways – first cycle of getting back to heavier lifting and 5/3/1-based methodologies down. Next week starts the 2nd part of the 6-week cycle: squat and deadlift go up 10#, press & bench press go up 5#, but everything else remains in terms of exercises and approach (still 5’s PRO and all that). I will say that depending on how the knee stuff goes with the doctor, I might wind up changing a little bit; we’ll see. But the plan is to stay the course.

5/3/1 (Based on: Forever, BBB, 5’s PRO

• Press
  • bar x 5
  • 70 x 5
  • 85 x 5
  • 105 x 5 (was in a nice groove, kept going for 2 more reps)
  • 130 x 5
  • 150 x 5
  • 165 x 5
  • 85 x 10
  • 85 x 10
  • 85 x 10
  • 85 x 10
• Bent-over Lateral Raises (superset with press warm-up sets)
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
• Normal-grip Pulldowns (superset with press work sets)
  • 130 x 12
  • 130 x 12
  • 130 x 12
• Lying Triceps Extensions
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 10
• Slant Board Sit-ups
  • 22 x 15
  • 22 x 12
  • 22 x 9

Pretty good day.

Benching went well. I am going into these heavier sessions with some trepidation, and I realized why: past injury. Whenever I’ve gotten to heavier weights, it’s when injury or things like the arm pain set in. So I’m a little wary: will the pain come back? since it’s a shoulder issue, am I risking a different (and worse) injury, especially if I don’t keep tight (as I’ve realized doing that – the crush grip – really helps mitigate things)? It’s not that I can’t move the weight, it’s just the fear of injury again.

It’ll be interesting in the coming weeks: next cycle, weights go up; cycle after that, weights go up and start to touch more so in places I’ve not been before. It’s actually exciting, and yeah… a little fear of the weights is good, especially when you overcome.

Anyways, benching was fine. Focusing on the crush grip does really help, and I was much better about maintaining that throughout the rep, as I’ve had a habit of loosening up during the descent. During the BBB sets I really worked on tucking the elbows and better drive out.

I did NOT lunge today; I’ll come back to that.

Everything else was just everything else. Reasonable assistance work.

I saw the orthopedic doc yesterday about my knees. Cursory examination looks like it may be a knee cartilage issue. No immediate signs of things like a tear or other worse problems, which is good. I’ll be getting an MRI in a few days to get a better picture of things, and then we’ll go from there.

One thing doc suggested I do between now and then is spend 20-30 minutes/day on a spin bike. So ok, I started that today. Only did 10 minutes, because the lower quads started to feel it. Interesting sensation, as normal stationary bikes don’t hit me like that, but I guess the angle in the spin bike… Anyways, I’ll work up to it. We’ll see how this fares for me.

5/3/1 (Based on: Forever, BBB, 5’s PRO

• Bench Press
  • bar x 5
  • 100 x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 155 x 3
  • 190 x 5
  • 215 x 5
  • 240 x 5
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 10
  • 135 x 10
• Bent-over Lateral Raises (superset with bench warm-up sets)
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
  • 12e x 15
• Kroc Rows (superset with bench work sets)
  • 60 x 10e
  • 60 x 10e
  • 60 x 23e
• Pushdowns
  • 85 x 20
  • 85 x 20
  • 85 x 20
• Slant Board Sit-ups
  • 22 x 12
  • 22 x 12
  • 22 x 9

That was painful. 🙂

Honestly, I wasn’t sure how today would go. Scheduled for a top set of 5 reps @ 300 lb, and honestly I wasn’t sure about it. In recent times I did do 295 for reps, and this is more. Of course on paper there was every reason for me to hit it — my actual 1RM, the fact the 295 was “a cycle ago” so the small increment should work out just fine, etc. So there’s no reason for me to have doubted.

But I did — because of my knee.

Today I’ll be seeing an orthopedic doc about it to start to figure out what’s going on.

That said tho, the squats themselves went pretty well. I’m thinking about changing how I squat tho: turning around. I think facing the mirrors is causing me to well… to look at them more than I should. I’m wanting to check form, check depth, etc., when I really need to just squat. I squat facing the mirror because of spacing issues, but maybe who knows — maybe I should just close my eyes. I’ll see.

BBB sets – gah. Slay me. It’s a deceptive amount of work. 🙂 I am happy with my appproach tho (taking a cue from my RP experiences) of incrementing the work over time. It’s 5/3/1-philosophy-consistent tho: start light. Since it’s a 6-week run, first 2 weeks get 3 sets, second 2 get 4, third 2 get 5 sets.

And what really gets me is the supersetting. No the front plate raises aren’t killer, but what it does is adds to the exhaustion. The torso and everything is already tired from the squats, then you need the torso for all this stability. Couple that with breathing heavy and well, it adds up. But I am happy to stick with it, because I do feel my work capacity is increasing here.

Anyways, things are as they are.

We’ll see what the doc says today.

5/3/1 (Based on: Forever, BBB, 5’s PRO

• Squat (superset with band pullaparts)
  • bar x 5
  • 125 x 5
  • 155 x 5
  • 190 x 3
  • 235 x 5
  • 270 x 5
  • 300 x 5
• Band Pullaparts
  • Not tracked
• Squat (superset with front plate raises)
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 10
  • 155 x 10
• Front Plate Raises (all the way overhead)
  • 25 x 20
  • 25 x 20
  • 25 x 13
  • 25 x 12
• Leg Extensions
  • 75 x 12
  • 75 x 12
  • 75 x 12
• Stair Calves
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12

Yes, I really missed pressing.

It’s a challenge. It’s a lot of fun. It’s tough. It’s probably the lift I need the most technique work on, but I’m getting there.

Yes, today I focused on crush-grip, but it’s also very important for the whole body to be tight and rigid. A big help? Clench the butt. I eventually remember to do that, but I need to do it from the unrack. One thing that I started doing that helped? Clench the butt before I unrack the bar — it worked as a good reminder.

I was unsure about the 5’s PRO, but I’m feeling better about it now. Things are settling in, I’m getting the groove.

next week — technically the “1’s week” should be interesting to see how it goes.

Things of note from today:

Pressing was fine. Just happy to be there again. BBB sets feel very light and easy, but I’m leaving it alone — it’s easy now, it won’t be in the coming weeks.

Bent-over raises. I usually hate these, but I’m kinda liking them. I find myself moving the weight by focusing on contracting the upper back muscles, and while I don’t get exhausted, I do get a bit of work. It’s actually kinda been fun.

Pulldowns. On the last set, someone had taken one of the little 5 weights from the stack. I didn’t notice until I was a few reps into the set and noticed it felt easier; didn’t worry about it. But that’s why the weight went down.

Split squats. Forget it. Tried, but the knees aren’t having it. I did some bodyweight squats instead, just to get ROM and some movement. I do have that appointment with the orthopedic doc on Monday. We’ll see how it goes.

Lying Triceps Extensions I’m really enjoying. The lighter weight feels better on my elbows, but the longer range of motion makes up for it. Plus it is more work; feels like it’s hitting things better.

5/3/1 (Based on: Forever, BBB, 5’s PRO

• Press
  • bar x 5
  • 70 x 5
  • 85 x 5
  • 105 x 3
  • 120 x 5
  • 140 x 5
  • 155 x 5
  • 85 x 10
  • 85 x 10
  • 85 x 10
• Bent-over Lateral Raises (superset with press warm-up sets)
  • 12e x 12
  • 12e x 12
  • 12e x 12
  • 12e x 12
• Normal-grip Pulldowns (superset with press work sets)
  • 130 x 12
  • 130 x 12
  • 125 x 12
• Split Squats (superset with press BBB sets)
  • BW x 5e
  • bw x 10 (converted to bodyweight squats
  • bw x 10
• Lying Triceps Extensions
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
  • 65 x 12
• Slant Board Sit-ups
  • 22 x 12
  • 22 x 12
  • 22 x 10

That went quite well; better than expected.

I’ve been having my doubts if I should have gone 5’s PRO or not. I’m not sure tho if it’s a problem there, or elsewhere. I’ve had horrible sleep lately — that scorpion bout the other night didn’t help. But I got a solid 8 hours last night and feel pretty good this morning. That’s one key thing about 5/3/1 success: recovery matters greatly. It’s something you have to emphasize. It’s not like I’m trying to get less sleep, just shit happens. It’s one reason I’m taking this coming weekend off: I am worn out and need some naps.

Anyways, deadlifting went well. I do think I’m adjusting to the workload because the upright rows didn’t kill me this time. It’s still tougher because of the superset with the deadlifts (out of wind, torso already tired and now must continue to stabilize), but it didn’t feel as death as last week.

All in all, pretty good. Happy with today.

5/3/1 (Based on: Forever, BBB, 5’s PRO

• Deadlift
  • 170 x 5
  • 215 x 5
  • 255 x 3
  • 300 x 5
  • 340 x 5
  • 385 x 5
  • 215 x 10
  • 215 x 10
  • 215 x 10
• Band Pullaparts (superset with deadlift warmups and work)
  • Not tracked
• Upright rows (superset with BBB sets)
  • 105 x 12
  • 105 x 12
  • 105 x 10
• Seated Leg Curls
  • 120 x 11
  • 120 x 10
  • 120 x 8
• Stair Calves
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 12
  • 70 x 10